Chicago Construction News staff writer
Two engineers from the Chicago suburbs were among six young professionals selected by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) to represent the organization at the annual Emerging Leaders Alliance conference in Pittsburgh from Sept. 15-17.
Gourav Patodi of Brindley Engineering in Lisle, IL., and Angel Perez Irizarry of WJE in Northbrook, IL., attended the event. They were joined by four other ACI representatives from across the country: Emma Zhang of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.; Cesario Tavares of ICON in San Marcos, Texas; Pravin Saraswatula of Texas A&M University in Bryan, Texas; and Manuel Zamora of Amrize in Lakeville, Minn.
The conference, now in its 16th year, is a partnership among leading engineering and science-based organizations. It offers advanced training in topics such as management, personal branding, presentation skills, and problem-solving.
Other partners include The American Institute of Mining Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), International Erosion Control Association (IECA), Society for Mining Metallurgy, & Exploration (SME), Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS).
This was the seventh year the ACI has participated in the conference. Attendees were selected based on an application process that required them to have less than eight years of industry experience.
